The Boy Scout Conversation
by Sunny Okanagan
Summary: When things start becoming more serious between Steph and Ranger, Tank finds himself explaining something a Steph just can't seem to understand and opening up about something from his past.


I'm only borrowing these wonderful characters. They are not mine. I make no money or anything else from this.

It wasn't often that I got put in the middle of an argument between Steph and Ranger. I would usually steer clear even if I were, however this one was near and dear to me. Things between the two of them had been heating up and Steph had moved in. There was talk of marriage and whatever else the future hold. The hold up? Steph didn't understand Rangers "Boy Scout paranoia" as she called it. The rest of us called it being prepared. So to try and calm things down, it was time to share part of my painful past.

"Steph, have you heard the guys mention Tony?" I asked her as we got settled on the couch at my house. If we were going to have this conversation I wanted to make sure it was under my terms. I knew Rangeman was secure, but there were a few things that I refused to talk about at the office, things that could potentially put others at risk was one of them.

"I've heard the name once or twice. He used to work at Rangeman, didn't he?"

"Him and his wife both did. They left about three years ago."

"Okay, so what do they have to do with my relationship with Ranger."

"Tony and his family is the reason why Ranger needs you to have code words and an exit stratagy. Tony was in our unit and still very active duty when he approached us about our old offer to join us here. He was getting out within the next year and with one daughter and wife, he wanted something more stable. Like a lot of guys he knew they would want to try to keep him on to run more missions like a number of us have done, but he had already made up his mind that he was done. He wanted to be home and enjoy his family, not miss any more of their lives. They were talking about having another child and he didn't want to miss anything, he had missed most of it the first time. While he was still on his last tour his wife, Cori, left the base and came here. We helped her get a place close by with a yard and she got everything set up and organized for Tony to be able to join her here and start a new life when he got out. He had been home for a few months, his contract was over, everything was going how it should. He got called to DC, he was told it was just to sign the final paperwork, it was nothing unusual the paperwork can be a little slow. He had been gone two days, and called to say he was on his way home. Cori did some things similar to you, she ran some searches and helped Ella a few days a week while their daughter was in daycare for some socialization. She had called together Bobby and I, we were like her brothers I've known her since I was 10, Bobby was 9. Her heart is very much like yours. She would do anything for her friends. So she had called us to meet with her, we were waiting for Bobby to show up for lunch. I knew she had something to tell us because she'd been practically vibrating all day." I went to my fridge and got a beer. I returned to the couch and put my head back. Two years, nine months and eleven days later and I still found it hard to talk about.

"Her phone rang and while I can't say for sure it was Tony, there is very little doubt in my mind. Her face lit up like it always did when he called or she saw him. They had two sets of code words, I only knew Brussel Sprouts, the second one I had never heard. Brussel sprouts meant she needed to secure herself and Olivia, their daughter. So bring her daughter here or their panic room in their house, or some safe place that they had discussed. She hated when he called it, over the years I'd seen and heard about him testing it numerous times. It wasn't always bad, there were times when he would then wisk her away for a weekend or treat her to a few hours at the spa. He tried to make it as fun and positive as he could while making sure she was always prepared." I chugged back half my beer.

"I just remember the colour draining from her face. Cori looked at me with this panic in her eyes and I clearly remember her saying _Alfalfa is Zappa,_ she paused for a second then said Zappa again. She hung up and asked me if I could go with Bobby and pick Olivia up from daycare and meet her in half an hour. I remember wondering if Tony changed their phrase. Its not uncommon to switch things up sometimes, with the ending of his contract a fresh code word wouldn't have surprised anyone. I called Bobby and met him downstairs and we went to get Olivia. We met Cori at the house, she seemed to have calmed down and thanked us for getting Olivia for her. She smiled and gave us each hugs and quick kisses. Bobby got a page and had to respond to medical assistance needed, so we ended up having to leave quickly, I didn't get to ask her what was happening, what she had wanted to talk to us about. The next morning I remembered that I had never called her to find out, I tried to call both her and Tony but there was no answer for either one. I went by the house and it just felt off, nothing was really out of place, but for the first time ever I felt uneasy about being there. To settle my nerves about it I checked the panic room, I opened the door and my stomach dropped. All the go bags were gone, by the control panel was a pregnancy test and a note saying that she loves us."

"Tank, you mean she's been missing for three years?"

"I think it's more of they have been on the run for almost three years."

"How can you be so sure? What happened?"

"We looked for them, but she knew how to disappear. Tony knew how to disappear as well."

"How do you know she wasn't taken?"

"Two weeks after they left there was a notice in the classifieds. It was an acknowledgment to friends and family about taking a trip, it had his tag on it. We responded to the message, but it's not uncommon not to hear back. We don't want people to catch onto the system we use or the codes. The more communication the easier it can be tracked, if they are hiding we don't want to expose them. We still try reaching out, but sometimes its unconventional, and it can be missed."

"But how do you know they are together and they are safe?"

"They get messages through to us. You just have to pay attention. It's unconventional and some people might say we're reaching and seeing things that aren't there, but we also have to have faith in our team and faith in the systems we have set up."

"But you talk like you know."

"There are been things that have happened that are hard to explain. Some may call them completely random, while others would have little doubt in their minds that this is a message from them." I could see the doubt on her face. "A month after they left, there was an envelope delivered. No return address, the address was for Rangeman and it was a sticker. No fingerprints anywhere. The only thing inside the envelope was an ultrasound picture, it has been cut so that all the personal information had been cut off, one of the guys almost threw it away because they didn't know what it was or why we would get it. It was 8 or so months later that we got the same envelope with sticker this time it contained a picture. It was taken against a bright white wall so you couldn't tell who was in the picture, but it was done in such a way that you could clearly see it was a family holding a new baby. A father, mother, child and newborn. Since then there have been a few pictures like that. That's not random, it's a pattern."

"So you're basing everything on a few pictures."

"Both their parents have gotten random trips in the mail. Flights and hotel. They went on the trip and there have been different things that make them think or feel that the family was there or was just there. A sandcastle outside the hotel window when they checked in. All of them could have sworn that they have seen them, but it was such a quick glimpse that they couldn't be positive."

"You believe that?"

"When we were fresh out of high school the four of us went to the shore for a week. We had such a great trip, we were all close and we have done the trip every year since then. Bobby and I didn't go the first year, it was scheduled for a week after they left and we were still trying to figure everything out. We went last year, and it felt like we were being watched. We kept with our regular routine, and one day while we were on the beach a little girl came up to us. She said hi, sat down and started building a sandcastle. Bobby and I sat there watching her as she played and just... It was how I imagined it would be if Tony, Cori and Olivia would have been there. We would have been sitting there building sandcastles and splashing in the water. I don't know how long we sat there watching this little girl play in the sand. Then just as suddenly as she joined us she stood up, smiled and Bobby and I both swear she said "Love you Auntie Tank, love you auntie Bobby." By the time we got over the shock of what she said, she was gone, lost in the crowd. We had never given her our names, Olivia had always called us Auntie. Some of the guys were uncle, but the two of us were always auntie when she talked to us like that. Ranger was always Angel, it was also what he called her, and Lester was Mr Silly pants."

"So you think it was them, you think they were there?"

"What other explanation is there? There is no way that little girl knew our names. How many kids call obvious males "auntie"? Aunt is more a term for someone close to them, not just some random person you just met."

"I don't know Tank, but it seems kinda far fetched. Why would they be so close and not make contact?" "What's what we're struggling with too. Obviously there is something going on where they don't feel its safe. Maybe now, they could come home, but they've been gone so long that they might just feel it's easier to keep things the way they are."

"Does everyone's girlfriends or whoever have these plans in place?"

"Not everyone. Some girlfriends refuse to take such precautions. They call us paranoid and tell us that we are trying to control them and that we can't be worried about every little thing that happens. Those relationships haven't seemed to last very long. None of the guys would ever force this kind of life on any woman, it's not an easy life, but it is the life we live. You've called us the boy scouts many times over the years because we are always prepared. This is just an extension of that. This is who we are, this is what we need to do so that we can relax and enjoy life. We have been dumped in so many hell holes with less than we need, why would we take the chance to not have something that could save our lives, save the lives of our loved ones? Is having a duffle bag in that trunk of your vehicle really that big of a deal? Is having another duffle bag packed in a closet at home really that hard? You maybe go through them and refresh them once a year if even. They are there for an emergency. As for the code words and phrases, some guys never use them, we don't want to have to use them. Being that Tony was still active and therefor there was still a higher risk, sure he tested them, but I think the rewards Cori got totally outweighed the pain of having to react to them. In all honesty, its no different then when we get paged 911 for work. You drop everything and go."  
"Why couldn't Carlos have explained it like that?"  
"Because he doesn't want to scare you, he doesn't want you to have to think about the harder and darker parts of our lives. If you really love him, if this is what it takes to move your relationship forward, then what does a few duffle bags matter?" I could see the acceptance on her face in that moment. A few duffle bags stashed different places really wasn't a big deal if it meant that she got to have the man.

AN. My first posted writing. Let me know what you think. Thank you MyMerryMen for the encouragement to post this.

I've thought of giving what happened to Tony and his family a chapter or a story. Or is everyone just happy knowing they're alive?


End file.
